Santana & The Product G&B, Maria Maria | 1 Hit WONDERful

In the fifth edition of 1 Hit WONDERful (2026), we highlight “Maria Maria” by Santana and The Product G&B. 

It only takes ONE hit to solidify a musical legacy 💯! On 1 Hit WONDERful, we highlight songs that were the SOLE hit by a given musician.  It is possible that the artists appearing on this list earned a minor hit or two, BUT for the most part, that ONE hit earned them recognition. So, in the fifth edition of 1 Hit WONDERful (2026), we dive into “Maria Maria”, the one-hit wonder by Santana and The Product G&B.

First things first.  Neither Carlos Santana (b. 1947) nor Santana (the band) are one hit wonders. “Maria Maria” is credited to Santana, featuring hip-hop/R&B duo, The Product G&B (David McRae and Marvin Moore-Hough).  The Product G&B ARE considered one-hit wonders as “Maria Maria” is their only charting song on the pop charts.  The good news is that the seventh track from Santana’s multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album, Supernatural, spent 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.  In 2000, “Maria Maria” was ubiquitous – an inescapable juggernaut on the airwaves. Beyond its chart dominance, “Maria Maria” won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.  Carlos Santana wrote this unforgettable hit with McRae, Moore-Hough, Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis, Raul Rekow, and Karl Perazzo. Jean and Duplessis produced it.  The sounds are glorious, blending R&B, hip-hop, pop, and Latin-pop seamlessly.  The groove, the bass line, and that Spanish guitar are EVERYTHING!

David McRae is responsible for the crown jewel of “Maria Maria,” the chorus. The chorus follows the Wyclef Jean introduction, excerpted earlier.  McRae’s voice is radiant and filled with soul.

“She remind me of a West Side Story

Growing up in Spanish Harlem

She living the life just like a movie star

Oh, Maria, Maria

Oh, she fell in love in East L.A

To the sounds of the guitar

Played by Carlos Santana.”

Following  McRae’s inspired chorus, Carlos Santana drops a sweet guitar solo.  It’s worth mentioning that Carlos is the man! McRae returns, singing the first verse.  “Stop the looting, stop the shooting / Pickpocketing on the corner,” he sings in the socially conscious verse.  Santana performs the refrain that follows, before McRae drops the ace-in-the-hole chorus once more.  McRae drops another gem in the second verse: “I said a favela los colores / The streets are getting hotter / There is no water to put out the fire.” Following another refrain, McRae drops the bridge where he still speaks of Maria: “Maria, you know you’re my lover /… Still feels like we’re together, Maria, yeah.” Following the final chorus, Santana drops another ear-catching guitar solo, followed by the outro where Wyclef Jean caps things off, memorably saying, “Yo Carlos, man, you’re making that guitar cry.” He wasn’t lying either! All told, “Maria Maria” is nothing short of an R&B-infused Latin-pop bop.  This is the crossover hit that many musicians just wished they could record.  Pushing three decades later, this song is still the sugar, honey, iced tea.

---

Santana » Supernatural » RCA/JIVE Label Group / Sony Music Entertainment » 1999

Santana & The Product G&B, Maria Maria: 1 Hit WONDERful No. 5 (2026) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; RCA/JIVE Label Group / Sony Music Entertainment; Alexa Popovich, cottonbro studio, ds rexy, Thomas Ronveaux from Pexels; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Gordon Johnson from Pixabay]

---